UK Orders Six More Airbus H145M Helicopters
Airbus Helicopters announced April 19 that the United Kingdom has ordered an additional six H145 helicopters, with deliveries to start in 2025.
According to Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), the H145s purchased under the £122m (~$150.9 million) contract will be deployed to Cyprus to support UK training and for emergency response and aerial firefighting duties, and to Brunei to support UK jungle warfare training, replacing the Airbus Puma HC2 helicopters currently used by the Royal Air Force for the two missions. The H145s are expected to replace the Pumas in both missions in 2026.
The British military procurement agency, DE&S, added that the purchase of the six H145s allows for more efficient operations due to the existing H145 fleet and the larger worldwide H145 fleet providing economies of scale.
The Royal Air Force currently operates seven H145s. Officially named the Jupiter HT Mk.1 in RAF service, the H145 is used to provide advanced rotary wing flying training missions to UK helicopter pilots, and is capable of conducting maritime, mountain and search and rescue training missions.
Airbus Helicopters in the UK Managing Director Lenny Brown said: “We congratulate the MoD on this smart acquisition which simultaneously provides the right-sized helicopter for the Cyprus and Brunei requirements, represents excellent value for the UK taxpayer, and is another key step in the rationalisation of types in the transport helicopter fleet.” Adding:
“The H145 Jupiter, and its sister H135 Juno, continue to demonstrate exceptional reliability and versatility in the training role in the Military Flying Training System (MFTS) and will bring these crucial attributes to their new tasks.”
In February the UK leased five of its Airbus H135 Juno helicopters to Australia for use training Australian Defence Force pilots. The UK acquired the five H135s in February 2022, as an addition to its current inventory of 23 Junos. The requirement for the additional helicopters was never finalised and they were placed in storage.
Director Helicopters at Defence Equipment & Support, Keith Bethell, said:
“I am immensely proud of the work done by the Multi Helicopter Platform Delivery Team along with Army Capability and Airbus Helicopters UK in securing contract award for the purchase of six Airbus H145 platforms to provide aviation support to British Forces in Brunei and on Cyprus.
This contract is a great example of an agile acquisition process that has secured new modern equipment to meet our Armed Forces enduring requirements, such as Jungle Training in Brunei and a wide range of aviation services to British Forces based on Cyprus.”